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Aims Exercise games (exergames) have been recently proposed as a mode of facilitating physical activity in patients with chronic diseases. Although patients supported with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) benefit from physical activity, specific LVAD-related issues hinder their ability to exercise properly. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility and safety of exergaming in LVAD-supported patients. Methods and results Eleven LVAD-supported patients were enrolled in a 4 week exergaming programme using Nintendo Wii console with five sport games. Patients were instructed to play for 30 min a day, 5 days a week. Data on exercise capacity and exergaming were collected by using the 6 min walk test (6MWT) and a daily self-report diary, respectively. Feasibility of using the console and its safety was assessed by a semi-structured patient interview. Quality of life was assessed by the Minnesota Living with Heart failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) and the Cantrils Ladder of Life. Safety was assessed by patients report in interview and diary. The study group consisted of 10 male patients and 1 female patient, mean age of 67 +/- 7 years, of whom 10 were supported with the HeartMate 3 LVAD for a median of 10 (interquartile range 3, 21) months. Baseline exercise capacity assessed by the 6MWT ranged from 240 to 570 m (mean 448 +/- 112). After 4 weeks of exergaming, 6MWT distance increased from a mean of 448 +/- 112 (evaluated in six patients) to 472 +/- 113 m (P = 0.023). Patients Cantrils Ladder of Life score improved numerically from an average of 6.13 to 7.67, as did their MLHFQ score from 45.9 +/- 27 to 38.7 +/- 18, with higher and lower scores, respectively, reflecting higher quality of life. No specific LVAD-related safety issues regarding exergaming were reported. Conclusions Exergaming was found to be a safe and feasible mode for encouraging physical activity in LVAD-supported patients and carries a potential for improving exercise capacity and quality, Funding Agencies|Swedish National Science Council [2016-01390]

Aims This study aimed to evaluate the different health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) aspects in patients with both short-term and long-term duration LVAD support at pre-specified time intervals. Methods and results We performed a single-centre HR-QoL analysis of short-term and long-term LVAD-supported patients using the short version of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12) and the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire along with a survey to evaluate patients social and driving routines. Data were collected at baseline and at 6 or 12 month follow-up. Included were 46 patients with a median time from LVAD implantation of 1.1 [inter-quartile range (IQR) 0.5, 2.6] years. The median KCCQ-12 summary score was 56 (IQR 29, 74) with most favourable scores in the symptom frequency domain [75 (IQR 50, 92)] and worse scores in the physical limitation [42 (IQR 25, 75)] and QoL [44 (IQR 25, 75)] domains. No significant changes were apparent during study follow-up [KCCQ-12 summary score 56 (IQR 35, 80)], and no significant correlation between the KCCQ-12 summary score and ventricular assist device-support duration was detected (r = -0.036, P = 0.812). Sexual dysfunction was noted across all domains with a cumulative score of 31 (IQR 22, 42). Seventy-six per cent of patients resumed driving after LVAD implantation, and 43% of patients reported they socialize with family and friends more frequently since surgery. Conclusions Short-term and long-term LVAD-supported patients had impaired HR-QoL and sexual function at baseline and at follow-up yet reported an improvement in social interactions and independency. A broader spectrum of patients reported HR-QoL measures should be integrated into the pre-LVAD implantation assessment and preparation.

[Abstract] The accepted use of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) technology as a good alternative for the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure together with the improved survival of patients on the device and the scarcity of donor hearts has significantly increased the population of LVAD supported patients. Device-related, and patient–device interaction complications impose a significant burden on the medical system exceeding the capacity of LVAD implanting centres. The probability of an LVAD supported patient presenting with medical emergency to a local ambulance team, emergency department medical team and internal or surgical wards in a non-LVAD implanting centre is increasing. The purpose of this paper is to supply the immediate tools needed by the non-LVAD specialized physician — ambulance clinicians, emergency ward physicians, general cardiologists, and internists — to comply with the medical needs of this fast-growing population of LVAD supported patients. The different issues discussed will follow the patient's pathway from the ambulance to the emergency department, and from the emergency department to the internal or surgical wards and eventually back to the general practitioner.

The accepted use of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) technology as a good alternative for the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure together with the improved survival of the LVAD-supported patients on the device and the scarcity of donor hearts has significantly increased the population of LVAD-supported patients. The expected and non-expected device-related and patient–device interaction complications impose a significant burden on the medical system exceeding the capacity of the LVAD implanting centres. The ageing of the LVAD-supported patients, mainly those supported with the ‘destination therapy’ indication, increases the risk for those patients to experience comorbidities common in the older population. The probability of an LVAD-supported patient presenting with medical emergency to a local emergency department, internal, or surgical ward of a non-LVAD implanting centre is increasing. The purpose of this trilogy is to supply the immediate tools needed by the non-LVAD specialized physician: ambulance clinicians, emergency ward physicians, general cardiologists, internists, anaesthesiologists, and surgeons, to comply with the medical needs of this fast-growing population of LVAD-supported patients. The different issues discussed will follow the patient's pathway from the ambulance to the emergency department and from the emergency department to the internal or surgical wards and eventually to the discharge home from the hospital back to the general practitioner. In this first part of the trilogy on the management of LVAD-supported patients for the non-LVAD specialist healthcare provider, after the introduction on the assist devices technology in general, definitions and structured approach to the assessment of the LVAD-supported patient in the ambulance and emergency department is presented including cardiopulmonary resuscitation for LVAD-supported patients.

The improvement in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) technology and scarcity of donor hearts have increased dramatically the population of the LVAD-supported patients and the probability of those patients to present to the emergency department with expected and non-expected device-related and patient–device interaction complications. The ageing of the LVAD-supported patients, mainly those supported with the ‘destination therapy’ indication, increases the risk for those patients to suffer from other co-morbidities common in the older population. In this second part of the trilogy on the management of LVAD-supported patients for the non-LVAD specialist healthcare provider, definitions and structured approach to the LVAD-supported patient presenting to the emergency department with bleeding, neurological event, pump thrombosis, chest pain, syncope, and other events are presented. The very challenging issue of declaring death in an LVAD-supported patient, as the circulation is artificially preserved by the device despite no other signs of life, is also discussed in detail.

The accepted use of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) technology as a good alternative for the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure together with the improved survival of patients on the device and the scarcity of donor hearts has significantly increased the population of LVAD supported patients. Device-related, and patient–device interaction complications impose a significant burden on the medical system exceeding the capacity of LVAD implanting centres. The probability of an LVAD supported patient presenting with medical emergency to a local ambulance team, emergency department medical team and internal or surgical wards in a non-LVAD implanting centre is increasing. The purpose of this paper is to supply the immediate tools needed by the non-LVAD specialized physician — ambulance clinicians, emergency ward physicians, general cardiologists, and internists — to comply with the medical needs of this fast-growing population of LVAD supported patients. The different issues discussed will follow the patient's pathway from the ambulance to the emergency department, and from the emergency department to the internal or surgical wards and eventually back to the general practitioner.